bow saw
Report a Mistake- Date Made 1700-1850
- Event --
- Affiliation --
- Artist / Maker / Manufacturer Sorby, J.
- Object Number 988.77.579
- Place of Origin Continent - Europe, Country - United Kingdom, England, Municipality - Sheffield
- Place of Use Continent - Europe (tbv), Country - United Kingdom, England (tbv), Municipality - Sheffield (tbv)
- Category Tools and equipment for materials
- Sub-category Woodworking tools and equipment
- Department History
- Museum CMH
- Earliest 1700/01/01
- Latest 1850/12/31
- Materials Wood, Metal, Animal intestine
- Measurements Length 61.0 cm, Width 34.0 cm, Depth 3.1 cm
- Related activity Carpentry
- Caption Saws
- Additional Information Although rough flint "saws" were used in the Neolithic Period or New Stone Age (10,000 to 5,000 years ago), a true saw blade with real teeth only emerged during the Metals Age. Thereafter, every subsequent advance in metal technology brought about further improvements to the saw. So, by the middle of the eighteenth century, English toolmakers were already making relatively modern forms of hand saws thanks to high-grade steels from towns like Sheffield. Excerpt from exhibition text: On the Cutting Edge: The Arthur Pascal Collection of Woodworking Hand Tools, December 1991 to October 2005.
- Caption Bow Saw
- Additional Information Catgut twisted tight with a "toggle stick" draws the "cheeks" or two side-pieces together opposite the side to which the blade is attached. This puts tension on the blade to keep it taut. Excerpt from exhibition text: On the Cutting Edge: The Arthur Pascal Collection of Woodworking Hand Tools, December 1991 to October 2005.